I jump off the sofa and make a beeline for the telephone, Cathy still screaming. I shut my eyes trying to drown her voice out as I punch in Cory's number. There's no answer and I bite my lip in frustration. This is not good. This is not good at all.

Thankfully, Cathy quiets down which makes it easier for me to think. Obviously, I need to get to Cory before Mia does and since he's not picking up the phone, I need to go out and find him. I quickly scribble a note for Mrs. Hayes, thanking her for the sandwiches, and walk out of the front door.

I can't afford to wait for a bus, so I make my way towards the back of the house, hoping against hope that Mia didn't ride her bike on her way to her next victim. I smile as I see a familiar red bicycle lying on the ground, things were finally going my way.

I'm halfway to Cory's house when I realize, I don't really have a plan other than begging Mia not to kill him. I shrug, it could work. When I knock on his front door, I already have a story ready. Cory had promised me we would go for a run in the morning, and he would help me train for the school track team. His father opens the door and after I parrot my lie, he gives me a once over and looks so unconvinced that I feel a little insulted. He closes the door and I hear him yelling for Cory. The door opens again, and he shrugs, "he's not home, he's probably already waiting for you on the ground."

"Oh," I swallow, "yeah, I'll go meet up with him there then".

I walk down the steps, trying to figure out my next course of action, "hey kid?"

I turn back, "yeah?"

"You should probably load up on some carbs, you won't last an hour's practice otherwise".

I nod, "Yes sir".

The door slams shut, and I walk back to Mia's bike. The park is nice this time of the night. I freeze, "Cathy?"

It's quiet, cold, and breezy like you're the only person in the world.

My mind is racing because this isn't supposed to happen, not this way. Cathy is supposed to go radio silent after every warning. That's her pattern, that's been her pattern since the first warning so why would it break now? And why the park? It was stupid, listening to a voice in my head that wasn't mine, but Cathy had never been wrong before and I really had no idea where to go next so I jump on my bike and head to the park.

Like Cathy had predicted the park was dark and quiet and really fucking creepy. Against my better judgment, I walk towards the trees where Peyton had been hiding earlier that evening. I shiver as a particularly chilly gust of wind hits me. There are a million other places I'd rather be right now but being here was probably the only way to save both my friends and I was starting to realise why I'd never really had friends before. They were way too much work, with their murderous tendencies and their inability to obey simple instructions like 'there's a serial killer after you, stay the fuck home.'

"Cory" I whisper, "you there?"

There's no answer so I stop whispering, "Cory? Dude if you're here you need to come out."

"CORY" I yell finally.

There's no answer. I am truly alone in this creepy park which looks like it came straight out of a horror movie and it's exactly what I deserve for listening to Cathy. I'm just about to turn back when I spot something white among the trees. I jog up to it and pick up the white cap, my blood running cold. The last time I saw it, it was on Cory's head and now it was muddy and dirty with a small smear of blood along the rim.

I sit down beneath the tree, studying the ground to see if there is any more blood. I can see leaves, grass, and twigs but no blood, which meant Cory wasn't badly hurt, and if he wasn't badly hurt that meant he had had enough strength to at least attempt to run, which meant both he and Mia weren't here.

I run back to my bike, trying to think of a place where he would have gone to hide, it would have to be someplace lonely but someplace he knew well enough to be able to get into. I turn the bike in the direction of the high school.

The familiar building looks anything but welcoming as I park my bike in front of the gate. This time, the gate is locked, and I go around the length of the wall, searching for a place safe and easy enough to climb. I find a part of the wall that has crumbled enough to make it easier to scale and take a running leap to the top. It isn't very graceful, and I definitely don't win any points for the landing but I make it to the other side.

"Cory" I whisper again, "you here buddy?"

There's no answer and I start walking, determined to search every square inch of this place, because I know he's here, there's no other place in this town that he would know well enough to use as a safehouse.

I decide to stop calling for him and simply focus on finding him. If he'd been listening to even a word I'd been saying for the past week, he would probably stay hidden, even from me, since he had no idea whether I was being used as bait or not.

I knew there was a broken window in the laboratory that the janitor had never bothered to fix and that was my entry point. Being in the building in the dark was not a pleasant experience and I wondered for the millionth time how I had landed up here. Right in the middle of a killing spree that a voice in my head predicted.

The classrooms were predictably locked, but I checked all of them anyway. I was starting to get a bad feeling, not the general 'wow this place is creepy as fuck' feeling but the actual 'something really bad is going to happen' one.

I swallow, only the staffroom and the boy's locker room were left to be searched and honestly, if Cory or Mia weren't there, I was leaving. I'd had enough of this place.

The staffroom is unlocked, and I step inside, my shoes squeaking on the clean floor. They let the rest of this building fall into disarray, but the staffroom was always kept spick and span. My heart was beating like a piston in my chest as I made my way to the storage room at the back. The door was ajar, and I took a deep breath as I pushed it open and saw....... piles of journals.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding and close the door. Now it was just the boy's locker room and I could finally----

There was the sound of a table being moved, a sharp blinding pain and then nothing.

*********************************

When I wake up, I almost wish I hadn't. My head feels like it is being pricked by a thousand tiny needles, all on their way to my brain. I blink, everything smelt gross and dirty and sweaty?

Despite the fireworks in my head, I know instinctively I am in the boy's locker room. I look around, specifically the storage room. I stand up and go to the door. For some reason that I didn't know but was now grateful for, part of the door was glass which meant I had a clear view of the locker room.

Cory was tied to a chair in the center of the room. He was slumped in his seat, his head leaning forward but that was not what worried me. What worried me was the familiar figure dressed in black with a ski mask, standing in front of him, twirling a large kitchen knife in their fingers. It felt like déjà vu except for the fact that this time I was locked in a room with no weapon and Cory wasn't even conscious.

"Hey," I yell, banging at the door, "stop".

Mia didn't turn towards me, but I knew she'd heard me because she stopped twirling the knife and leaned forward, seemingly studying Cory.

"Mia, stop, come on, you've known Cory since middle school, you can't just kill him in cold blood".

The knife is firmly clutched in her hand now and I hit the door again, "Mia please, think about what you're doing".

She thrust the knife towards Cory's chest just as there was a loud bang outside the room. We both stop in mid-air, the knife inches from his chest and my fist inches from the door.

"I'm here," a familiar voice says, "you can come out now".

I watch in utter shock as Mrs. Hayes walks into the room, a smile on her face. She doesn't even flinch as she takes in the scene before her, but her smile drops, "what are you doing?"

Mia takes a step back and Mrs. Hayes tightens her coat around her, "What is this?" her voice breaks, "Tell me you aren't responsible for the deaths".

I watch mesmerized as she approached Mia, hands held out, "We can fix this".

"You just have to let him go" she continues, "we don't have to tell a soul".

She hasn't seen me yet and I am determined to keep it that way. At least for now.

Mrs. Hayes is now directly in front of Mia, and I see her fingers relax their grip on the knife.

"We'll start over, everyone deserves a second chance".

The bad feeling I'd had earlier comes back like a tidal wave as I throw my weight against the door, "MIA DON'T"

But it is too late, I can only watch helplessly as she catches the knife in a swift move and plunges it straight into Mrs. Hayes' chest.

For whoever made the playlist I'm listening to right now cause damn that's some good music